About us

The Canterbury Centre for Policing Research (CCPR) conducts high quality applied research that aims to involve and advise policing professionals.

Research undertaken by members of the Centre will therefore be both strategic and practical, influencing policy and practice – this is central to our ethos. Our practitioner-centred approach will incorporate the views of all policing practitioners including senior leaders, private sector staff, police officers/staff and policing specialists through engagement with the CCPR and the development of the academic and police advisory group. This will engage officers in our work, ensure that all of our researchers are aware of the current challenges in policing and assist the translation of research findings into operational and strategic practice.

The strategic objectives of the centre are

To conduct high quality applied research that aims to involve and advise police officers.

To work with police officers of all ranks at all levels to ensure that research findings have an operational / strategic impact.

To consolidate expertise across the University to develop multi discipline research projects.

To work nationally and internationally with other universities and various policing societies, networks and forums.

Key research themes

Professional development The University has a long association with public service and police education and we aim to deliver research that explores: different approaches to learning, professional development and the use of education in policing, the relationship between learning and the impact it has on police practice, evidence based policing, crime analytics and the growing use of technology. Identifying the changing demands facing the police and exploring the skills required to ensure officers can effectively deliver to that demand.

Investigative processes and practicesResearch staff within the School have expertise in various aspects of investigation including: sexual and domestic abuse, crime involving vulnerable people, decision making in criminal investigation and training provision for detectives.

Governance, legitimacy and participation in policing Research has been conducted by School staff on the changing structures of governance, Police Crime Commissioners, neighbourhood policing, police reform, community confidence and legitimacy and wider participation within policing (from other public sector agencies, the public and the concept of social capital and the private sector).

Security, risk and globalisationThe expertise within CCPR includes public order policing, cyber-crime, terrorism, trafficking and serious crime. Our research interests in police co-operation, compatibility and differences in police structures are also important considerations when responding to global and cross border crime.

Management team

Dr Emma Williams, Director

Emma Williams is the Programme Director for the MSc by research in policing. Prior to this she worked as a senior researcher at the Metropolitan Police Service conducting operational and strategic research on MPS priority issues and developed practical outputs to guide evidence based police practice and training. She also worked for two years, as part of a secondment process from the MPS, at the Ministry of Justice as a principle researcher conducting and advising on evaluations of various criminal justice policy. She is undertaking research on police treatment of victims of sexual violence. She is exploring this in the context of credible police work and the measurement of performance both by the organisation and by peers. Her research interests are policing and victims of interpersonal crime, police professionalism, the use of research and education in policing, public perceptions and confidence in the police and community policing - particularly in the context of the localism agenda. Emma supervises students on the MSc by Research in Policing.